Digital Innovation Secures Water Future for 1.4 Million Families in Colombia

• Proeksa Meas
• 18 April 2026
• Construction Focus
• 1207 Views

Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) of Colombia has successfully transformed the city’s water network, ensuring that 1.4 million families have access to reliable and affordable water through a digital modeling system.

The centerpiece of this transformation is Bentley Systems’ OpenFlows Water software. Before adopting this technology, EPM engineers had to rely on fragmented spreadsheets and manual calculations that could take weeks to complete.

By using Bentley’s advanced digital tools, the team created a fully integrated “digital twin” of the entire water system, including five treatment plants and hundreds of miles of pipelines. This shift allowed engineers to condense months of planning into just a few hours, providing instant insights into how the city can best serve its residents.

The digital model allowed EPM to simulate 30 years of future scenarios, identifying ways to optimize the existing system and successfully avoiding $12 million in unnecessary expansion costs.

Furthermore, the software helped pinpoint energy efficiencies in pumping stations that save 2,500 kilowatt hours every day. This reduction in energy use not only saves the city $95,000 annually but also cuts carbon emissions by an amount equivalent to 117 tons of CO₂.

Besides, with the ability to predict the impact of droughts and landslides through the OpenFlows Water platform, EPM can now prevent service interruptions before they happen.

By saving a total of $18.6 million through these digital efficiencies, the utility is better positioned to keep water rates affordable while reinvesting in the infrastructure that will sustain the city for generations to come.

Learn more about how Bentley’s OpenFlows Water can help optimize and future-proof your water distribution systems.

• Bentley
• Digital Twin
• OpenFlows
• Bentley Systems